Awesome Birds

With state birds like Louisiana’s pelican, choosing a bird to represent your state seems like a decent idea. But Jam2Go’s video essay points out how many states completely missed the point, either picking inappropriate birds or duplicating other states. Along the way, he offers some suggestions on how to fix the problem.

Animation student Adnan Peer Mohamed wanted to make something that would make his audience giggle. We think he succeeded with this short film about a goofy-looking seagull desperate for a snack. When it comes across a hot dog on the ground, things don’t turn out quite as expected.

Among the various residents of the San Diego Zoo are a number of delightfully pink flamingos. For fun, the zoo shared footage of the lanky birds as they poke their heads beneath the water in search of food. The flamingos have filtering plates in their mouths which sort out tasty morsels like tiny shrimp and other small critters.

Our fine feathered friends have several key abilities which make them competitive in the meta, including the power of flight and pointy beaks. But clearly, some birds are more likely to survive and thrive than others. TierZoo offers up their unique take on various avians and how well they may fare in the universe.

On the surface, Joseph Bennett’s animated short film is just two guys gabbing about nothing while birdwatching. But it turns into a deep existential discussion as the duo starts thinking about their place in the universe and their own mortality. Comedian Joe Pera did a fantastic job with the voice acting too.

In this footage from the 2009 BBC Earth special Superswarm, we get an up-close look at a mass of roughly 10 million starlings as they fly in formation over Rome, Italy. Of course, with millions of birds comes a whole lot of bird poop. We’d love to see a sequel recorded with modern 4k cameras.

Nexus Studios and director Hideyuki Tanaka created this wild and wonderful promo spot for a Japanese tourism campaign back in 2004. The clip features a flock of ostriches as they take to the ski slopes, fully embracing their gangly and awkward bodies as they head down the snowy mountainside, and into the city.

Like many of us, engineer Mark Rober has a backyard bird feeder. He also faces the common problem of squirrels pilfering bird seed. So what did he do? He and his buddy created an overly-complicated solution to the problem, frustrating fluffy-tailed rodents with an American Squirrel Warrior obstacle course.

Among its technologies, Festo are experts in robotic biomimicry. In this video, they show off the latest generation of their BionicSwift, a robot that mimics the flight mechanics of a real bird. These artificial swallows can autonomously fly in coordinated flocks, and can pull off tight turns and loops.

Frank Maglio’s Amazon parrot Tico likes to sing along when Frank gets out his guitar. So sit back and enjoy a avian little serenade as the bird does its best Robert Plant impression, and embellishes Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven with a bit of whistling.

Nature photographer Marco Valk captured some incredible footage of starling murmurations in the sunset skies over Geldermasen in the Netherlands. The birds travel in massive flocks to provide safety from predators and warmth at night while at the same time offering humans one of the most spectacular shows on Earth.

Nature photographers John Downer Productions flew a realistic, robotic hummingbird deep into a forest packed with hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies. The drone captured amazing footage of the swarm as they awoke from their long winter’s nap in Mexico. From the BBC Series Spy in the Wild.

While enjoying a tranquil tandem paraglider flight over Andalucia, the folks from Skywings Adventures made a new friend while airborne. We’re impressed that the pilot didn’t drop his selfie stick when a huge vulture momentarily landed on it.

Researchers in London, England used a fascinating method to view the aerodynamic properties of flight. Using helium-filled soap bubbles, they were able to visualize the vortices created by birds’ wings, and made interesting observations about the role their tail feathers play in flight. Details here.

Marvelous Decks‘ created this colorful deck inspired by our tiny feathered friends. Holographic foil can be found throughout the deck, while the tuck case adds sculpted embossing and multiple foils for added effect. Available in red, blue, or purple. The gilded three-pack is extra special. Pre-orders start shipping 1.2021.

Australian indie developer Samurai Punk created this relaxing game in which you assume the role of a bird, and fly around a vast island. As you explore and take in the colorful scenery, the weather and time of day gradually change, accompanied by a soothing ambient soundtrack. Available now on PS4, Switch, PC, and Xbox One.

Hummingbirds are most amazing creatures on the planet. Having to stay airborne for the vast majority of their lives, their tiny hearts thump up to 1260 beats per second as they buzz around sipping twice their body weight each day in nectar. ZeFrank offers up a few more interesting facts about these insect-sized birds.

Cats and birds aren’t supposed to get along, but in the world of Aaron’s Animals, resident kitty Prince Michael has been raising a bunch of ducklings. But when one of the fuzzy little guys struggles to be accepted by his brothers, he makes a break for it, and falls in with a bad crowd. Best watched with Closed Captions on.

In the grand scheme of the meta, birds seem like they wouldn’t rank very highly, and parrots’ flamboyant looks are anything but stealthy. TierZoo explains how the colorful birds are quite capable of holding their own, thanks to their sharp claws and beaks, agility, and superior smarts.

Artist and musician Bichopalo makes unusual electromechanical musical instruments which incorporate organic shapes and plant life. At the center of the magical Plantyflutesizer is a spherical birdhouse, where his avian pals Pico and Verdi take up residence and enjoy a soothing ambient tune.

2020 is off to a hell of a vicious start, and it’s The Awesomer’s job to offer up some distractions from the madness around us. This video of a bird riding a skateboard should help distract you for the next 40 seconds or so. Meanwhile, we’ll get back to work filling your web browser with more innocuous stuff.

“Just one of your eyeballs is bigger than your whole brain.” Zefrank has a thing or three to say about the lanky and awkward flightless bird, most of it unflattering. On the other hand, they’re faster than you, so they’ve got that going for them. They also have a way with the lady ostriches.

Procnias albus – aka the white bellbird – has a call that sounds more like a fire alarm than something that should come out if its beak. The dove-sized bird can belt out a noise that registers up to 124.5 decibels. That’s nine decibels louder than the previous record holder, the screaming piha, and roughly as loud as a pile driver.